Govt will not apologise to ISA detainees, says Nazri

The Sun
by KONG SEE HOH

MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz says the government will not apologise to or compensate those who have been held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as their detention is lawful.

The government has acted within the ambit of the law, and the police were authorised to use the ISA against these individuals, he told Sin Chew Daily in an interview at his home in Kuala Kangsar on Sunday.

“For example, if theft is no longer a criminal act, does it mean the government will have to apologise to all the thieves and compensate them (for punishment meted out to them)? Of course it doesn’t work that way, because at the material time, stealing was still against the law. If (the government) has acted against the law, it is a different matter.”

He told the daily the cabinet will discuss the release of ISA and Emergency Ordinance detainees who are not involved in terrorism at a coming meeting.

He said for some of the ISA detainees, who had been involved in terror activities or had posed a threat to national security, the government would seriously considerwhether they should be freed.

“Those who had not been involved in terror activities, the cabinet will discuss(their case) at the meeting, as well as seek the advice of the police and the attorney-general. The government may consider releasing them,” he said.

Nazri said he agreed that ISA detainees who have not been involved in terrorism or who are not a threat to the country’s security should be released.

“The government will treat them on case by case basis. If there is enough evidence 

against them, the government will bring them to courts, otherwise they would be released,” he said.